Sizing Your Commercial HVAC Unit

Correctly sizing your new or replacement commercial HVAC unit is one of the most important steps of HVAC design. You need to choose the right size of system that will effectively service your commercial space, without wasting unnecessary energy along the way. While there are equations anyone can use to estimate the right size of their commercial air conditioning, at the end of the day, you will want licensed HVAC engineers to design your system for you.

At Air-rite Solutions, we are experts in sizing commercial HVAC system for businesses in Brisbane and South East Queensland. Here is a guide on how to estimate the size of your commercial building’s HVAC unit.

What to Consider When Sizing Your Commercial HVAC Unit

The size of your commercial HVAC unit will be influenced by a number of factors. These include:

• The size of your commercial or industrial building
• The climate of your location – South East Queensland businesses need stronger HVAC systems to combat the subtropical climate
• The total number of occupants within the building
• Equipment used in the room – heavy machinery will naturally increase the temperature of the building
• How the building is positioned to the sun and how much shade cover it has

Each of these factors will influence the size of HVAC system your commercial building needs to efficiently keep its temperature comfortable all year around.

How to Calculate the Size of Your Commercial HVAC Unit

Most HVAC systems are between 1 and 30 metric tonnes in weight, depending on the size of the building. As a general rule, one square metre of space requires 0.15 kilowatts of energy to cool. Therefore, if your building is approximately 60 square metres in size, you will need a HVAC system capable of delivering around 9 kilowatts of energy.

However, while this simple equation can provide a rough estimate of the size of your commercial HVAC unit, there are several other considerations to make. As stated earlier, the number of occupants in your building is an important factor, as is the available insulation space within the ceiling of your building to accommodate the various components of the unit.

Finally, you may be thinking that installing a larger-than-necessary system will mitigate any risk of it not being powerful enough. However, a HVAC system that is too large for its space has other negative consequences, such as reducing the healthy level of humidity within a room that may cause mould to grow and trigger asthma attacks.

Why You Should Have a Professional Design Your HVAC System

The only way to know for sure that your commercial HVAC unit is properly sized is to have an experienced professional design it. Air-rite Solutions holds a QBCC Unlimited Design License (Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) which qualifies our team to design commercial HVAC systems for Brisbane and South East Queensland businesses.

Our trained designers will precisely size a HVAC unit that perfectly fits and functions for your commercial or industrial building. This will take all the guesswork out of your hands, so you have the peace of mind that the system being installed will effectively serve its purpose, operate efficiently, and meet all legal building codes and guidelines.

Size Your Commercial HVAC Unit with Air-rite Solutions

If your Brisbane or South East Queensland business is in need of a new or replacement HVAC unit, then the experts at Air-rite Solutions are here to help you accurately size and design the ideal system for your needs. Contact our friendly team today at 07 3274 2199.